FWIW the 4 Cylinder Eco Boost in the Big Bronco has a single Turbo the same as the Colorado's 4 cylinder.
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More on the 2025 Bronco Sport
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Sorry folks that I don’t recall the source. But I read that only Bronco Sports sold in states following California emissions law, will have a GPF in 2025. Thus here in MI for example, we only follow US Federal emissions rules so the 25’s sold here will still have the same 250 hp (on high octane gas).
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I don't believe that is true, I think Ford made the decision to go all 50 states with the GPF.
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I hope you'r right! More and more busineses are leaving CA. Just too complicated and expensive to do business there.
Bigger screens are nice, but moving functions to the touch screen is a bad move for safety (Eyes on Road!). That's a killer for me. When I decided to replace my Escape at the end of its extended warranty, I initially considered a VW GTI. I had an '84 Rabbit GTI and a '95 Golf GTI VR6, both fun cars. But when I looked at VW moving all functionality to the touch screen and steering wheel, it just looks like nightmare to drive safely and comfortably.
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Is there any data or evidence to support this claim? It seems to me no manufacturer would knowingly redesign a car in a way that's been proven to be less safe.
Years ago, Allstate made a commercial using their Mr. Mayhem character highlighting the risks of the infotainment screens being a distraction and cause of vehicle crashes. Auto manufacturers lobbied them to remove the commercial. You might as well be texting.
Common sense would tell one that eyes on task is safer than searching the center screen for the desired button or in some cars, changing screen menus. Common sense is no longer too common. Touch identifiable controls are preferable to controls requiring visual identification and operation.
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Do search for something like "car manufacturers rethinking large touch screens" or "automakers ditching large touch screens" There are many articles about manufacturers moving back towards at least some buttons for what is described as critical items. In Europe manufacturers will be required to move back towards buttons to maintain a 5 star safety rating.
This from a BMW blog:
Automakers in Europe Asked to Ditch Touchscreens in Favor of Buttons
The European New Car Assessment Program (Euro NCAP) plans to introduce new rules in January 2026 that will require new cars to have more physical controls to be eligible for the maximum five-star safety rating. This announcement comes after more and more automakers have abandoned physical controls in their vehicles and relocated the functions to ever-larger touchscreen infotainment screens.
Adjusting climate settings through a touchscreen is seen as less safe than simply twisting a knob or pressing a physical button because you can’t rely on muscle memory for it. In a car with physical climate controls, through use, you learn where the knobs and buttons are, and you don’t have to look away from the road to make adjustments—that’s not the case with touchscreens, which will often have you navigating through several menus to reach the desired function.
Full Article: automakers-asked-to-ditch-touchscreens-in-favor-of-buttons
My experience with the larger touchscreen has not been positive. In two different vehicles it was the same. First, adjusting the temperature and ac does require taking your eyes off the road so you really can only do this in a full stop situation. The most annoying thing about the larger screen for me is the split screen. Partial radio info and partial route map. This experience was with loaners and one didn't have the owners manual. We found a radio station that was satisfactory and left it. Same with the temp. I know, if I "owned " either vehicle, I would read through the manual and find the possible solutions to those issues. However, that still doesn't alleviate the problem of eyes off the road. Just speaking from my personal experience.
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This is a common answer when I ask for data. It seems to me given the increasing use of touch-screen controls there would be data. There have been studies showing that completing some tasks using a touchscreen requires more time than physical controls, but it's not clear how much of that is down to familiarity. Further, none that I've found compares physical controls with voice commands, which do not require the driver to take eyes off the road. Poor touchscreen design can certainly make tasks more difficult and confusing, but I don't think that applies to SYNC 4. I don't believe it even applies to SYNC 3. The consensus among the automotive press seems to be that ergonomics and ease of use for touchscreens is mainly down to design. Screens that sit lower down are generally more distracting than those that sit higher up. The SYNC 4 screen in the Bronco Sport is as near to eye level as you can get without obstructing the driver's forward view, and SYNC 4 offers a variety of voice commands, including HVAC controls.
A lot is made here about the ability to adjust climate controls by touch. I don't see it. I've driven my Badlands for over three years and I still look down at the climate control panel to make adjustments. The climate controls on the SYNC 4 screen do not move, and they are higher up in the driver's field of view than the current climate controls.
"Is seen as" is not the same as "is." If any industry has an interest in this issue it would be the auto insurance industry. Although there are rumors that underwriters may begin factoring vehicle tech into premium quotes, that hasn't yet happened. My guess is if this ever does happen it will involve vehicles with egregiously designed touch screens, and I don't think Ford's SYNC systems fall into that category.
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You picked up on one word to twist the intent of the article. Further down in the article there is a quote from Matthew Avery, director of strategic development at Euro NCAP, told The Times that “the overuse of touchscreens is an industry-wide problem, with almost every vehicle-maker moving key controls onto central touchscreens, obliging drivers to take their eyes off the road and raising the risk of distraction crashes.”
The point of the article is that The European New Car Assessment Program (Euro NCAP) is introducing new rules in Europe to require automakers to have more physical controls to maintain 5 star ratings not whether they used the words "is seen as" vs "is". The NCAP obviously sees this as a safety issue. Also my point is that there are many articles if you search that indicate some automakers are actually moving back towards including some buttons back on the dashboard.
Obviously safety experts are looking at this issue. Not just the Insurance industry. Here is another article from Popular Science. too-many-screens-in-cars
I have had experience with Sync 4 and the larger screen on a 23 Escape and there is definitely a difference in the amount of time your eyes are off the road while driving. A perfect example is the recirculate button which was moved to an on screen menu item buried in the climate control menu. I keep the recirculate button on in the hot weather. On the newer cars it automatically turns off including our BS. With the Sync 4 system the "button" is buried in a menu and there is no indication that it was turned off after I had switched it on. At least with my BS I can glance down to the button a see an indicator light without having to fumble through an on screen menu.
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Not sure. I never tried to see if there was a voice command for that. I no longer own the car. It was returned to Ford for my BS. My wife especially is much happier with the Sync 3 screen. I am not one that is great with using the voice commands beyond making a phone call through my connected phone and honestly there is always times when I have to repeat the command because Sync didn't understand the command.
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